Tags

News

While working on the Learning Network, an education blog by The New York Times, Holly Ojalvo began to realize mainstream news was missing a major demographic: teens and youth. After looking into the cause of teen apathy for current events she discovered “Teens are overwhelmed by the amount of information out there and discouraged by its complexity.” Which is when the idea for Kicker was born. Kicker is a totally unique new outlet designed to take complex world events and condense them in a teen friendly manor.

In the modern world of increased global interactions, a local news story halfway across the world can significantly alter the lives of American youth. Holly laments, “If you want to make a difference in the world you need to know what the problems are.”

Kicker is meant to create a snapshot of the world today, breaking down the important components and making stories relatable. Holly explains “ The stories are not meant to be comprehensive, just enough to help the reader understand.”

Kicker also provides relevant links so the curious can learn even more. The site hopes to inspire youth and teens to not only to stay informed, but also to become active members in the world they live in.

With conflicts raging through the Middle East, recession threating the world economy, and social issues taking center stage, American teenagers are directly affected by what is going on around them. When asked which current events she believes are the most important, Holly points to the protests consuming Turkey and the National Security Administration scandal. Earlier this month, Turkish youth took to the streets protesting not only the demolishing of Gezi Park, one of the few remaining public parks, but the increasing oppression from their Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan.

The struggle of youth around the world to make a difference and have their voices heard is inherent to Kicker’s message. They hope that through informing youth of current events, teens will begin to formulate their own opinions and find their voice; and that’s the real kicker.